Pestana Royal All Inclusive Ocean & Spa Resort

Friendly and helpful staff. Mild stains found on couch’s fabric. Hot/cold water unsteady.

We quite liked the hotel and its friendly staff, but it is certainly not a 5 star hotel in the way guests might reasonably expect given the title of the hotel. With 300+ rooms the hotel appears to attract a wide variety of guests including many tour groups from around Europe and further afield. We felt the vibe was one of ‘package holiday’ rather than a 5 Star experience. The hotel re-opened in 2017 after a major refit and the ‘public’ areas look great. Many of the hotel bedroom areas do, however, have a distinct late 90s feel and are still decorated with what look like original furnishings and fittings. As well as the main buffet there are two ‘specialist’ restaurants with limited openings and capacity. Guests are rationed in number of times during their stay. Get in quick with you booking on arrival to ensure a place. Despite the mixed TripAdvisor reviews of the buffet food, we found it tasty with a wide range of choices and a good variety of dishes over the week. With so many guests eating there it is not surprising that the buffet is very noisy at peak times. If you want to keep up your walking ‘steps’ this is the place for you. It is a loooong walk to reception from many rooms. We clocked up 2.5km over our week stay just going to and from the dining areas! The Primavera Bar and Lounge at the hotel, had staff doing their best in probably the least atmospheric bar we’ve ever encountered. The ‘bar’ itself was little more than a counter on the side of what instantly reminded me of a concert hall in Butlins in the 1960s! On the four occasions we briefly visited the entertainment was either Karaoke or singalongs. The outside pools were good and there were zillions of basic sunbeds. The hotel location was ok overlooking the rocky Formosa beach but is quite a way from the centre of Funchal. You can walk along the coastal path promenade which takes about an hour. There is a, twice daily, free large shuttle bus into the city as well as local buses every 15 minutes from just outside the hotel; €1.95 pp or buy a book of tickets. Overall, I’d add that we had done our research in advance and so nothing came as surprise. We enjoyed our stay, but we wouldn’t return.

This is an amazing hotel, the staff is excellent, the food is very delicious and copious. We had a Deluxe Superior room for 3 adults, it was a big room, the beds were comfortable, the view was fantastic (3th floor) One of the best holiday experience! :)